I have never liked to hear that word. I believe this is so because when I had first learned about the word when I was a kid I said it again to my mom and she smacked my mouth and put hot sauce in my mouth. I learned that it was a mean word and that "we don't say mean words." I agree with the reading when the author quotes Ray Richardson, “I don’t give white people the right to use the word until they clean up the conditions they made that attempted to relegate me to nonhuman status. I believe racial equality will make the word powerless. At that time, yes, but until that time, don’t even say it. You have not earned the right.” I really dont think that any white person has the right to use this word. If you are going to say it, I think that you should keep it private. It was used as a derogatory term and can still offend people. Yes black people have the right to say it, they were called that word for years, but I dont think that they should get so angry when white people say it. I understand that they might think its "their" word but no one owns language and if they are using it with each other its fair game. To me its like girls wearing low cut shirts and getting mad at guys for staring at their chest.
My grandma is a very racial person. Her brother fought in WWII and she uses horrible slang terms towards blacks, Japanese, and Asian people. I find it very disgusting. I love her to death but it really saddens me that we cant move forward. I agree with the reading that the only way to get rid of racism is to actively try to rid the world of the terms that are being used.
I really like the last paragraph of the reading. When I think of literature and language, I dont think of the harsh words that are or have been used to cut down other people that are different than the rest of the world. I think of words that are beautiful and crafted together in a way that is music to my ears and takes me away to another plane of thought. I dont believe that the "N" word or any other derogatory term should have any use in our society. Its time to move forward.
1 comment:
A very interesting parallel you invoke by comparing use of the N word in the Black community to someone wearing a low cut shirt and then complaining because of the stares.
I do think, though, that there is one crucial difference. The woman wearing the low cut shirt is only inviting stares at herself. To apply the analogy fairly, use of the N word by one Black person would only apply to others using the N word with that particular person--we can't equate one Black person with the entire Black community.
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